₹116.84 crore ‘ghost’ FDs detected in Chandigarh Smart City accounts; FIR lodged

Police have registered a case after the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) uncovered suspected financial irregularities involving fixed deposits worth ₹116.84 crore and additional suspicious transactions of ₹8.22 crore linked to bank accounts of the now-defunct Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL). The economic offences wing registered the FIR following a complaint by the MC commissioner highlighting possible fraud in the company’s accounts maintained at a private bank branch in Sector 32.

The discrepancies surfaced when the civic body began reviewing its investments in certain banks after reports of financial mismanagement involving government funds. As part of the process, MC officials approached the banks to withdraw or transfer funds invested by the corporation after the Haryana government de-empanelled the institutions.

CSCL had formally closed in March 2025, after which all its financial records and assets were transferred to the municipal corporation. During its operations, the company maintained multiple bank accounts for project-related transactions. To consolidate funds after closure, a dedicated account was opened to pool all the balances previously held by CSCL.

When MC officials sought to encash fixed deposit receipts worth ₹108.73 crore and transfer the funds along with accrued interest, they found that deposits amounting to ₹116.84 crore mentioned in the records handed over during the company’s closure did not exist in the bank’s system. The FDRs had allegedly been issued by the then branch manager during March and April 2025.

Further scrutiny of bank statements obtained directly from the bank revealed three payment entries worth ₹8.22 crore made to private agencies that were not reflected in the corporation’s accounts. Officials also found major discrepancies between statements provided during the company’s closure and the original records from the bank, suggesting that several entries may have been fabricated.

Police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against an outsourced accountant associated with CSCL, the former branch manager and others. The accountant, who had been handling financial documents related to the company, has been missing from work since February 24, and investigators are examining the possible involvement of bank officials and other individuals connected with the transactions.